


Underneath The Tree

by winterjasmine



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28464417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterjasmine/pseuds/winterjasmine
Summary: What do you get from combining a family vacation to Los Angeles and hot chocolate? A mission to find the best Christmas tree in Los Angeles starring Shoyo Hinata and Kenma Kozume.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Underneath The Tree

_You’re all that I need. Underneath the tree._

The light show from Shoyo Hinata’s speaker dances on the hotel room walls as music pours out, circling the room. Shoyo sings along with the Christmas song, bopping his head and getting lost in the music. All that fills his senses is the upbeat swells and zooms of bells, guitar, and happy-shouting vocals. His brain’s having a good time, working in sync to the music and carrying out the unpacking agenda with no other thoughts in his mind. 

A loud knock seconds after a transition to the saxophone solo nearly knocks him out of his stride though.

Shoyo stops rifling through his suitcase, the music still blaring through the room as he glances over where the knocking came from. With a quick huff for air he makes his way to the hotel room entrance and opens his door.

“For the love of Kelly Clarkson, please stop,” Natsu sighs, rubbing her forehead with her fingers a step or two away from Shoyo’s doorway. She’s not gritting her teeth, but her eyes-tightly-shut, scowling expression hints a headache’s coming on. “I can hear you screeching from across the hall.”

Shoyo folds his arms. “It’s not screeching, it’s _singing_ ,” he insists.

“My sore ears beg to differ.”

Shoyo laughs and grabs his phone from his pocket. With the tap of the on-screen pause button, the music stops and the hotel room returns to silence. 

Natsu peers past Shoyo to see the now-silent speaker casting its technicolor lights on the walls as its lights continue to change color. “Using Kenma’s gift, I see.” 

“Yeah. He left it here for me, so I’d better use it.”

Natsu grabs Shoyo’s phone and wanders into his room. While his sister searches for a song to play, Shoyo heads back to searching through his bag for his Christmas sweater. He gets used to his arms combing through his bag for the sweater, slipping into becoming lost in thought.

Two days ago, Shoyo arrived in Los Angeles with Natsu and their mother for a Christmas getaway. For the first time in a few months, Shoyo’s Instagram feed became more than just pictures of his MSBY Black Jackals teammates. He had fun snapping photos of the Walk of Fame and views from the Griffith Observatory. 

Shoyo’s focus had been stuck on the glamor of California until he posted a picture of Natsu’s hot chocolate. The cat marshmallow art had been too cute to not post. As expected, the comments section was full of heart and sparkle emojis. But the unexpected part was the direct message… from Kenma Kozume.

The two of them usually keep in touch through text, interweaving memes, emojis, and photos with little messages to each other and shreds of info about how they’re doing individually. To Shoyo’s surprise (and slight confusion), Kenma hasn’t responded to his texts in a few weeks. No gifs, no heys, nothing. Shoyo admits and recognizes that professional gaming is on a whole other planet compared to professional volleyball. Kenma could’ve just been very busy. It’s the holidays after all. But Kenma’s been consistent with texting in previous holiday seasons.

With that confusion and craving for normalcy in mind, when Kenma chose to break his silence with a simple cute a few days back, Shoyo shot back a reply at lightning speed.

**Shoyo:** i know right?!

**Kenma:** how have you been?

**Shoyo:** pretty good. MSBY has me beat.

now I’m chilling on holiday

**Kenma:** L.A. huh?

**Shoyo:** yep!

**Kenma:** i’m close by.

**Shoyo:** REALLY?????

COOLLLLLL!!!

**Kenma:** yeah.

maybe we could meet.

**Shoyo:** asdfghjkl

wsxcfghbnmk,

cvbnm,.t3w2uw

**Kenma:** you ok shoyo?

**Shoyo:** yeah yeah

just 

happy that you’d want to hang out.

maybe we can get a hot chocolate together.

**Kenma:** i’d like that.

any plans for Christmas Eve?

**Shoyo:** probably exploring more of L.A.

the Christmas lights here are amazing

**Kenma:** especially the ones at the grove

**Shoyo:** ooooo I haven’t heard of the grove

**Kenma:** it’s a shopping center.

i go there sometimes after work conferences

**Shoyo:** well i’ll add it to our list!

maybe we’ll see each other around!

**Kenma:** maybe.

_‘Maybe?’ What did he mean by ‘maybe’?_ Shoyo wonders. Even now that simple text has his mind running circles and hunting for answers. _Is he still busy? Or does he really not want to see me? What if..._

“So we’re going to some shopping mall because your boyfriend asked you to?” Natsu asks, pulling Shoyo out of his thoughts.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Shoyo chirps, setting his Christmas sweater down on his bed. 

Natsu plops down on Shoyo’s bed. Crossing her legs and cupping her chin in her hands, she flashes a playful grin at her older brother. “Yeah, tell me that when you stop beaming at your phone every time he texts you.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about-”

Shoyo’s phone pings right beside Natsu while he’s mid-argument. On instinct, he dives across his bed, snatching his phone away.

“Hey I wasn’t done DJing you jerk!” Natsu whines with a glare.

Shoyo sticks his tongue out before looking down at his lockscreen. A group selfie from the most recent MSBY game greets him alongside a text message. Shoyo clicks on the text, instantly greeted by a familiar hot chocolate figure. The message under it is simple.

**Kenma:** see you mewn

“That’s the face I’m talking about,” Natsu coos from beside him. 

A blush spreads across Shoyo’s face. He quickly texts back.

**Shoyo:** purr sure

After sending off his text, Shoyo looks up at Natsu.

“Kenma just sent a cute pun. No more, no less.”

“Mhm. That’s what they all say.”

“Who’s they?”

Natsu ignores her brother, eyes locking onto the speaker. “I’m expecting more presents from your boyfriend if you keep chatting away like you have these past few days.”

Shoyo glances over at the speaker. Kenma had sent it as a hello gift for his absence despite Shoyo’s protests. Nevertheless, Shoyo loved it.

“Yeah me too.”

Shoyo’s cheeks flush red when he realizes what he had agreed to. Before he can explain himself, Natsu shakes her head and slides off the bed.

“We should probably head out if we’re going to see Kenma.”

“Ye- yeah,” Shoyo agrees, his blush only intensifying. 

Natsu smirks at him, nudging her head towards the door. “Come on lovebird.”

Shoyo slips on his sweater before turning off his speaker and joining his sister.

“Got your key Sho?”

Shoyo pats down his pockets, nervous that he’s about to accidentally lock himself out of his room. Thankfully, he feels the slim piece of plastic in his front left pocket.

“Yep! I’m good to go.”

Natsu sighs in relief and takes her brother’s hand. She leads them to the elevator, meeting up with their patiently-waiting mother and starting their journey to The Grove.

*** 

“WHOA!” 

The Hinata family looks on in amazement at the bright lights before them. Shoyo and Natsu ooh and aah at the tall tree to their right. Their enchanted mood is broken by a sudden gasp, bringing the siblings’ attention to their mother.

“Isn’t that your friend?” 

The three Hinatas glance at the clock tower in the distance, eyes focused not on the wreaths adorning it but a familiar face standing to the left. There, tapping on his phone with one hand and skillfully holding onto a tray of drinks in another, is Kenma. As soon as Shoyo locks eyes on his gamer target, he does a jump in place before…. 

“KENMAAAA!!!!”

The ginger-haired volleyball player bounds over to Kenma, shouting excitedly en-route to his friend. Kenma’s face scrunches up in nervousness at the sudden calling of his name. One look at Shoyo changes that, his expression softening.

“Hey Shoyo,” Kenma says softly when Shoyo reaches him.

“H- h- hey Kenma!” Shoyo greets back. Shoyo’s excitement and a little bit of heart fluttering steal his breath away for a moment. “Long time, no see.”

“Yeah. About that, I-”

“Well if it isn’t Shoyo’s favorite catboy,” Natsu chirps. She and Shoyo’s mother have finally ventured over to meet the two of them. Shoyo giggles at Natsu’s nickname for his friend, Kenma’s red _Meowy Christmas_ sweater making his cat-lover traits stand out more and the nickname funnier.

Kenma scrunches his nose but maintains his small smile. “Hi Natsu. I liked your hot chocolate.”

“So I heard. Thanks for the speaker, by the way. Shoyo can’t stop screeching at it.”

Now is Shoyo’s turn for a nose scrunch. It’s faint, but Natsu notices Kenma’s cheeks flush. 

“Well, I know how much Shoyo loves Christmas music. I thought he’d like it… especially after we haven’t talked in a while--”

“We can change that,” Shoyo and Natsu’s mother chimes in.

The siblings and Kenma look to her in intrigue.

“Well you two haven’t talked in a while. And I know there’s an American Girl store nearby.”

“Mom, I’m not five anymore!” Natsu huffs.

“There’s a _candy store_ near it.”

“... Ok, I’m sold.”

Kenma lets out a chuckle, catching the three visitors off guard. “Before you go, have one of these.” He holds out his tray, the nearby lights shining down on the cups revealing a familiar cat cafe logo.

“No way,” Shoyo gasps. “Did you really?”

“Let’s find out.”

Kenma quickly stuffs his phone in his jeans pocket. With his free hand, he takes out a cup from the tray and hands it over to Shoyo. Shoyo slips off the cover to reveal the smiling cat marshmallow he was hoping for.

“That’s very sweet of you,” Shoyo and Natsu’s mother says. The siblings nod in agreement, faces beaming at the return of their beloved drink. 

“Well, I thought I’d finally try it with some of my favorite people.” 

After all four drinks are passed out, the four of them sip from their cups. A wave of Christmas joy spread among the group as the smell of rich chocolate fills the air.

“Just as good as I remember,” Shoyo sighs happily.

“You’ve only had it once,” Natsu interjects.

“Whatever. Now who’s ready to see some Christmas lights?!”

Three “I’s” meet Shoyo’s ears. Once Kenma throws away the tray, the group makes their way through the shopping mall entrance. 

“Meet back at the clock tower in an hour!” Natsu calls out to Kenma and Shoyo as she follows her mother.

“Will do!” Shoyo shouts back. 

Kenma cringes at the sudden increase in volume to his right. He then feels a hand wrap around his shoulders. 

“So old buddy, old friend, old pal,” Shoyo starts, a beaming grin on his face.

“I am one year older than you, not ancient,” Kenma interrupts, pouting at the subtle age joke.

“Doesn’t matter. Where are we headed first?”

Kenma glances over to Shoyo, pout softening into a small smile. “I know just the place.”

*** 

The pair stops right in front of the Santa meet and greet booth. Kenma notices Shoyo’s fixation on the red and green house, the vibrant lights seeming to act as a beacon surrounding the booth. Sensing Shoyo’s thoughts, Kenma quickly speaks out.

“Absolutely not.” Kenma shuts down the giddy redhead.

“PLEEEEASE?” Shoyo pleads. “It’ll only take two minutes.”

“Shoyo Hinata, you are one hundred seventy-two centimeters tall.”

“So?”

“You’re twenty-three years old.”

“Twenty-three years _young_. But again, so?”

“No adult man in his right mind would let you sit on his lap.” 

Shoyo sighs heavily. Kenma struggles to tell if it’s jokingly or if the pro volleyball player is truly upset he can’t sit on some Santa cosplayer’s lap. 

“Well, I can admire the house from afar,” Shoyo remarks wistfully.

“And I can admire other things,” Kenma mumbles. There’s a small pause between them. Kenma silently hopes that Shoyo didn’t hear him, but his hope is quickly dashed.

“What was that?” Shoyo coos, no longer focusing on the Santa booth.

Kenma looks away from his ginger friend, surprised that the thought escaped him. 

“Uh, I can admire the pretty strings… of lights.”

“Uh huh, sure.” Shoyo sips on the dregs of his hot chocolate and looks around at the nearby lights. Kenma bites the inside of his lip, fighting to suppress a blush or some other embarrassing show of his internal screaming.

“So, gaming’s been keeping you busy?” Shoyo moves on, still looking at the lights.

Kenma shuffles his feet and shrugs. “I guess.”

Shoyo whips his head back towards Kenma. “‘I guess?’ What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well I- I’d say I’ve been busy with a few things.” Kenma takes a swig of the rich hot chocolate to avoid further talk of his recent schedule. 

Sure, he’s been caught up gaming, creating YouTube content, and working at Bouncing Ball. But there’s also been more to Kenma’s agenda. For the past few weeks, Kenma’s been working with Natsu and Shoyo’s mother for this night, this moment, meeting with Shoyo. 

And Kenma felt Shoyo was starting to see right through his and Kenma’s “random” get-together.

Shoyo lets out a sigh. “I’ll be right back.”

He steps away to find a trash can, leaving Kenma to panic over his words.

_Did I mess this up? Should I have kept up messaging Shoyo? Or am I being too obvious?_

Kenma feels a hand rest on his shoulder.

“Everything ok Kenma?”

Seeing Shoyo’s concerned face makes Kenma’s eyebrow furrow with more worry.

“I wasn't kidnapped. I’m here!”

Kenma laughs at Shoyo’s tension breaker. “With your ginger hair and that Christmas sweater? You couldn’t get lost in pitch darkness.”

Hinata tugs at his Christmas sweater, a Christmas gift from his MSBY teammates. The blue sweater is decorated with three oranges smiling and wearing Christmas lights. The phrase _Orange you glad it’s Christmas?_ captions the oranges’ thoughts.

“Oh come on. You love my sweater. I mean look at yours.”

“Shoyo, I barely tolerated Kuroo’s chemistry puns. And this sweater is pushing my pun tolerance. Looking at yours is cute, but agonizing.” 

“Well then, let’s test your theory.”

Shoyo starts walking off. Kenma reaches out and grabs Shoyo’s hand.

“Not so fast, gingy.”

“Gingy? Is that really the best nickname you could come up with, _catboy_?”

Even though Kenma is slightly annoyed, he returns the smile Shoyo gives him. Neither one of them let go of the other’s hand. At this rate, the heat growing on both of their faces threatens to turn into deep blushes. Hesitantly, Kenma lets go of Shoyo’s hand.

“Ok _tangerine_. Do you have anything in particular you want to see?”

“Wait, all of these lights weren’t the best part?”

Kenma smirks and shakes his head.

“Well,” Shoyo says, “the best part really is hearing from you.”

And that’s when Kenma loses his composure. Red Christmas lights would have tough competition with the flush that quickly spreads over Kenma’s cheeks.

“It’s just seeing some lights,” Kenma mumbles

“No! It’s spending time with one of the people I like most. And that’s one of the greatest things I could ask for. Time with my- friend.”

The catch in Shoyo’s voice floods Kenma’s thoughts. _Are we not friends? Does he hate me for not texting back as frequently? Wh-_

“Earth to Kenma!” Shoyo waves his hands in front of Kenma’s face, pulling him back down to reality. Kenma stares at him and smiles.

“I’m here Shoyo. Where do you want to go next?”

“Hmm… are there any great trees around here?”

*** 

Kenma practically _drags_ Shoyo to the center of the shopping mall in search of a tree. When they finally stop, Kenma surprises Shoyo once more. Kenma motions his arms towards the tree and does… jazz hands.

Shoyo reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out his phone. “Wait, wait, I _have_ to take a picture of this.”

“Shoyo, _no_.”

“Shoyo, _YES_. Now smile and wave.”

Kenma rolls his eyes and does as Shoyo asks. Shoyo quickly glances at the series of photos he took and grins madly. 

“One of these is _definitely_ going to be my new wallpaper,” Shoyo laughs.

Kenma shakes his head, but a slightly amused expression reveals his true mood. “Ok, ok. Now can we get back to the tree, Shoyo?”

“Why? We’re not in any rush.”

_About that..._ Kenma thinks to himself, staying silent and controlling his outside expression to hide the plans reeling in his head. He slips his hands back into his jean pockets and turns towards the giant tree.

The red and white lights strung throughout the tree are nearly blinding. Shoyo gleefully scans his eyes over the lights and the many red and white ornaments hung on the tree.

Glancing over at Kenma brings a smile to Shoyo’s face. The white lights highlight Kenma’s black hair and its blonde tips. And the red brings out Kenma’s gold eyes.

_Why does he have to be so cute?_

Shoyo feels his cheeks start to heat up again. _Oh no, no, no. Not now._ Shoyo panics, prompting himself to unintentionally step towards Kenma.

“How tall is it?” Shoyo asks, trying to ignore his growing nervousness. Kenma looks over and notices Shoyo’s now standing to his left.

_Ten centimeters. He’s just ten centimeters away. Keep it together Kozume._

Ignoring his inner nerves, Kenma thinks back to the articles he’d been reading when waiting for the Hinatas earlier. “3,048 centimeters tall.”

“That’s like fifteen Levs!” Shoyo remarks in awe.

“Can we not talk about Lev right now?”

Before Kenma could have flashbacks to his days with the lanky Russian back at Nekoma, Shoyo lets out another laugh. “Ok. But I have to say this _is_ a great tree.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“There you go again!” Shoyo exclaims, this time gently punching Kenma in the arm. “You’re acting like this isn’t the best Christmas tree ever. Just look at all of those ornaments! And the lights!”

“Well, I’m sorry, but there’s just another tree that I think looks better.”

“WHAT?! BETTER THAN THE GROVE?!”

“Stop shouting, Shoyo!”

“Make me!” Shoyo sticks his tongue out at Kenma.

“I didn’t want to have to do this…”

“Ha! You couldn’t-”

“The Adlers are better than the Black Jackals.”

Shoyo’s gasp was louder than any of his previous shouts.

“Kenma Kozume, you take that back right now!”

Kenma crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows in defiance. “Or what? You’ll call me catboy? Ignore me for a week?”

Shoyo takes a deep breath. “Cats are worse than dogs.”

As soon as the words escape from Shoyo, he regrets it. 

Kenma slowly closes his eyes, inhales deeply, and looks at Shoyo. Kenma’s cat-like glare scares Shoyo so deeply Kageyama would be jealous.

“You have three seconds to take that back before I leave you stranded here.”

Shoyo drops to his knees and bows his head before Kenma.

“Oh great and wonderful Kenma! Please do not smite me! I have wronged you and I apologize profusely.”

Passersby give the two concerned looks and walk by quickly. To those unaware of the two’s conversation, it seems like Kenma is furious at Shoyo. But Shoyo knows as soon as he looks up at Kenma that he’s in the clear. In fact, Kenma is struggling not to die of laughter.

“The look on your face,” Kenma giggles once he calms down a little. “And the way you went along with it-”

Shoyo and Kenma burst out into laughter, the former out of nerves and the latter out of amusement. Clearly, this tree has brought out the best in them, and for that Shoyo is grateful.

“Oh I haven't laughed this hard since Bokuto ran into a phone pole. Twice. On the same day.”

“Well, that’ll be a story for another day.”

Kenma locks eyes with Shoyo, a determined look taking over both of their faces.

“Is it the ‘other tree’ time?” Shoyo asks, excited to see the tree Kenma mentioned.

“Indeed, Shoyo. Indeed.”

***

“They’re back right on time.” Natsu notes.

Natsu and her mother look at Kenma and Shoyo in surprise.

Shoyo and Kenma had sped through seeing the rest of the lights. Shoyo assured Kenma that the shopping mall had been an amazing sight. Plus, they had seen some even more well-decorated trees in the shopping mall that Shoyo liked. But Kenma was insistent on showing Shoyo the “other tree.”

“Kenma says he has one last thing to show me. And as we walked through the rest of this mall, I think it’s somewhere near here.”

“Actually, it’s not,” Kenma admits.

Shoyo looks at Kenma with wide eyes.

“But we dashed through all of the other lights to get here! Where on Earth could this ‘other tree’ be?”

Kenma glances over at Natsu and shares a knowing glance. Shoyo is so lost in confusion that he doesn’t register the two exchanging looks.

“Well, wherever it is, mom and I won’t be going,” Natsu says. “We’re headed back.”

“Already?” Shoyo asks. “It’s only 8:30 p.m.”

“That may be early for you, but it’s late enough for me,” his mother replies. She looks at the bags containing the candies and other goods she and Natsu set beside themselves. “Plus, we would have to carry all of this with us. I’d prefer not to have to do that.”

“Well, we can drop the bags off and-” Shoyo tries to reason. But Natsu simply speaks over him.

“It’s been decided. The Uber’s almost here. And you’re in capable hands.”

Natsu nods over to Kenma, who gives a small wave after being recognized. 

Unable to argue with his sister, Shoyo sighs. “Fine. But let me know when you get back.”

Natsu nods and looks out at the parking lot. As soon as she turns her head, a small black car makes its way towards them.

“That’s our cue,” the siblings’ mother notes. 

She turns towards her son and ruffles his hair. 

“Don’t stay out too late now.”

“We won’t,” Kenma and Shoyo promise at the same time.

Shoyo and Natsu’s mother heads over to the car. However, Natsu glides over to Kenma. She leans in close enough to whisper a message only for her and Kenma to hear. “If he is kidnapped, scratched, or hurt in any way, I will find you and sock you in the face.”

“We’re going to a public place, but ok,” Kenma whispers back, somewhat fearing for his life.

“Expect the unexpected.”

Natsu pulls away after her warning and gives Kenma and Shoyo a big smile.

“Don’t be gone for too long, lovebirds!”

With her cheer, she skips over to the car awaiting her.

The air around Kenma and Shoyo heats up over Natsu’s words.

_Lovebirds? Is it really that obvious?_ Kenma wonders to himself

_LOVEBIRDS? Is she_ trying _to scare him away?_ Shoyo fears internally. 

After a few seconds, Kenma looks at Shoyo.

“Where to now?” Shoyo asks excitedly, bouncing up and down on his heels. 

“Take a guess,” Kenma replies.

“The cat cafe?”

“Sorry, but no.”

“A pizza shop?”

“You can do that any day! Try one more time.”

“Uhhh…. Disneyland!”

Kenma pauses, his eyes widening.

“Why didn’t I think of going there. That would’ve been perfect.”

“Some other time, maybe,” Shoyo interjects, frustrated that he couldn’t guess the location.

Shoyo starts jumping up and down from suspense. “Tell me already, Kenma!”

Kenma grabs Shoyo’s shoulders, stopping the ginger’s half-excited, half-nervous bounceathon.

“Shoyo, we’re going to the zoo.”

*** 

“Ooh what animals are we going to see?”

“Shoyo, it’s nighttime. Many of the animals are asleep.”

“Well you aren’t,” Shoyo jokes. 

Kenma rolls his eyes. “Well, thankfully, the tangerine-eating ones are all asleep.”

“Ah, you would’ve defended me anyway.”

“Hmm, I don’t know.”

“KENMA!”

“Shoyo, shh. You’re going to wake all the animals.”

“At the front of the L.A. Zoo? I don’t think so.”

Once again, Kenma decided to splurge his gaming funds on his ventures with Shoyo. Despite Shoyo’s protests, Kenma paid for the Uber ride to their next location. And Kenma insisted on paying for the tickets. 

The two arrive slightly under an hour before closing. Kenma stares at the giant multicolored snowflakes sitting above the entrance. He runs through his mental map of the zoo. 

_If Shoyo takes his time like he did at The Grove, we should be there in about half an hour. Then we can head over to-_

“You really like those lights,” Shoyo says. He stops rocking on his heels to focus on Kenma’s gaze.

“I’m not really looking at the lights. Just thinking.”

“Ah, strategizing even for a zoo trip. That sounds like the Kenma I know.”

“In a good way or a bad way?”

“I would say good, but I don’t know. You may be hyping up this tree.”

“If anyone is hyping up this tree, it’s you. All I said was that I thought the tree we’re going to see looks better. I didn’t say we had to go see it.”

“But I can tell you like this ‘better’ tree. If something’s got the great Kenma’s approval, I _have_ to see it.”

Unsure how to respond, Kenma falls silent. After five more minutes, the two enter the zoo. Shoyo takes in a tall tree-like lights structure at the zoo entrance.

“That’s a pretty great tree. Can we go see some animals? I heard the reptile exhibit is still open.”

“Nice try, but no,” Kenma responds. “The animals will be for another time.”

“But this is a zoo!”

“But we’re here for a tree, not animals.”

Shoyo sighs in disappointment. However, it doesn’t take long for him to become entranced by the animal figures surrounding the entrance tree.

“Hey, there’s you Kenma!” Shoyo points at a tiger figure playing with a ball of yarn. 

In response, Kenma nods up at the monkey figures hanging on a string of lights. “And there’s your cousins, Sho.”

“Now that’s just mean.”

“Nah. I never said they _are_ you. In fact, you look cuter than those primates.”

“Oh stop it. You’re going to make me blush redder than that sweater of yours.”

“Who’s to say I already haven’t?”

_KENMA!_ his inner self screeches. But Shoyo just goes along with Kenma’s game.

“Hmm. Let’s ask that tree of yours. It must be a mind reader for all that it’s done to impress you.”

“Mind reading doesn’t really fit into my standards of impression. But it’d be interesting if the tree does show sentience.”

“Ok Mr. Fancy Pants. Let’s just get to this tree already. I’m dying from your mysteriousness.”

This time, Shoyo reaches over and laces his fingers with Kenma’s. Propelled by the sudden feeling of Shoyo’s fingers on his, Kenma leads them closer to their destination.

*** 

For all his strategizing, Kenma does not plan for his separation from Shoyo. 

The ginger-haired boy begs Kenma to let him buy a souvenir. Unable to say no to Shoyo, Kenma agrees. Still holding hands, the two wander into the gift shop. 

All it takes is Kenma thinking about buying a tiger plushie for Shoyo to slip his hand free and head out the door. 

Shoyo darts off to see some snakes. But his poor sense of direction leads Shoyo to get lost after two minutes of freedom. He could easily look for a nearby map to find the scaly creatures. Being stubborn, Shoyo pretends to know where he was going and wanders around. 

The jovial Christmas music playing in the background eases Shoyo’s nerves. He hopes that the diminishing crowd will make it less difficult for Kenma to find him. From his random walking, Shoyo ends up in front of the reptile exhibit. Just as Shoyo considers entering the exhibit to escape the chill, he feels his phone buzz in his pocket. He’s surprised to see his mother’s contact photo greet him.

“Hi mom,” Shoyo answers. “What’s up.”

“I had the feeling that you’re giving Kenma a hard time.”

“Whaaat? No way. He’s right here next to me.”

“Oh really? Then why did he just call me to apologize for losing you in the zoo?”

“Did he really? I mean, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Shoyo.”

The tone in her voice sounds serious.

“Ok, I’m sorry for messing around. I really wanted to see some animals and-”

“Stop talking and listen.”

Shoyo immediately clams up at his mother’s continued seriousness. 

“I’m not sure he wants me telling you this, but Kenma spent the past month planning this.”

Shoyo’s heart gives a little flutter. _Well, it could be that he just really wanted to see his friend. There’s no way it’s more than that._

His mother continues with her account of the truth.

“Kenma was very considerate. He was very eager to meet with you during the holiday season. But he didn’t want to intervene in our family plans. Luckily, I didn’t have anything scheduled for today. And Natsu was more than willing to head home early with the promise of shopping.”

“Well, candy is a good incentive.”

“True, but that’s not the main takeaway. If anything, recognize this: Animals can wait. Kenma won’t wait for you forever. Don’t let him go, Shoyo.”

Forget about mind-reading trees. It sounds like Shoyo’s mother can read minds. 

It’s like she can sense the joy this evening brought to him. The fluttering of his heart in excitement when Shoyo even thought of Kenma. The shock Shoyo had when he confirmed his month-long suspicion: Kenma was more than a friend to him. His friend’s month-long absence impacted Shoyo enough for his distress to be due to more than just disappointment. 

Shoyo struggles to say his next few words

“But… what if he doesn’t like me like _that_.”

“Are you kidding me?! I’m surprised you guys haven’t gotten together already.”

Shoyo is surprised to hear his sister’s voice on the other end. Once again, heat races towards his cheeks.

“Wh- what do you mean?”

“It’s _sooo_ obvious that you two like each other,” Natsu responds. “Kenma spent the last month avoiding you because he was scared. And it wasn't the ‘I’ll ruin the surprise’ kind of scared.”

“Well, what kind of scared was it?”

Shoyo feels like he knows the answer but wants to hear Natsu confirm it. Unfortunately, Natsu doesn’t give Shoyo that luxury.

“You’ll have to find out yourself, lovebird. Call us back when you’ve kissed him.”

Natsu hangs up, leaving Shoyo standing outside of the reptile exhibit in shock.

Shoyo knows that Kenma was acting more energetic tonight. But he’d thought that Kenma was just excited to see him. Thinking back to Kenma’s compliments, however, makes the reality of the situation sink in for Shoyo.

As Shoyo starts to put his phone away, he gets a text from Kenma. Shoyo hurries to open the text. It’s a picture of a tree decorated with white lights and baubles filled with blue lights. Underneath it another simple message. 

**Kenma:** Come find me Shoyo.

*** 

_We’re definitely cutting it close_ , Kenma frets. He rocks back and forth on his heels. 

After he couldn’t find Shoyo, Kenma decided to walk towards the tree. Once Kenma arrived, he waited, hoping that Shoyo had followed. The longer he waited, however, Kenma realized that he was getting closer to feeling Natsu’s wrath.

Unsure of what to do, Kenma called Shoyo’s mother and explained the situation. Instead of being mad, Shoyo’s mother was understanding and assured Kenma that she would call her son shortly.

A few minutes after their call, Kenma received a text from Natsu.

**Natsu:** He’s headed your way. You’ve escaped the punch for now.

Kenma smiles at the baubles of blue lights decorating the tree above him.

_Come on Shoyo. I know you can do it. If you can find me in the next few minutes I’ll_ -

“You texted,” a voice calls out to him.

Kenma is happy to see Shoyo jogging up to him. Shoyo’s face is flushed red.

“Why do you look like a tomato? Doesn’t MSBY train you well?”

“They don’t have me on the team for running through a whole zoo,” Shoyo pants. “I’m lucky the security here didn’t drag me out of the zoo. I looked like a madman!”

“Well, it’s nice to know you’re mad for me,” Kenma teases.

“You bet I am.”

But Shoyo doesn’t take on a teasing tone like Kenma. In fact, he sounds serious. Kenma’s cheeks burn from his nerves. He looks at the lights above him trying to calm himself.

“Now look who’s the tomato,” Shoyo teases back. “Doesn’t look like we have to ask the tree about whether _I_ made _you_ blush or not.”

“Yeah, I guess not.”

“Oh, there’s no guessing about this anymore.”

Kenma’s breathing hitches as he feels the energy of Shoyo’s beaming smile directed at him. Knowing that the lights aren’t going to help his nerves, Kenma looks down. As he levels his gaze, Kenma feels his nose brush past something. The black-blonde haired gamer’s eyes widen.

Before Kenma stands Shoyo. The ginger’s nose is mere centimeters away from Kenma’s. And Shoyo's brown eyes twinkle with delight.

“Shoyo.”

“Kenma.”

Kenma’s mind is racing. He struggles to choose between two different thoughts. _Do I kiss him? Or do I keep talking?_ Kenma sticks with his comfort zone and carries on talking.

“I’m glad you found the tree.”

Shoyo glances up at the lights, his nose once more brushing Kenma’s.

“This _is_ a pretty great tree. I might even call it my favorite.”

“Why? It doesn’t have nearly as many lights or decorations as the one we saw earlier.”

“Well, it’s well-decorated. I approve of the white-blue color scheme.”

“Ok Mr. Fancy Pants,” Kenma chuckles, using the nickname against its creator.

“Oh, but that’s not why it’s my favorite.”

“Really? Then why should you like it?”

“Because I like you.”

Shoyo’s words send Kenma’s heart racing. _As a friend. That’s all there is. He can’t possibly-_

But Kenma’s mind goes blank. It’s too busy taking in the fact that Shoyo wraps his arms around Kenma. The whole bright landscape around the two seems to fall into silence as five words meet Kenma’s ears.

“As more than a friend.”

The way the white and blue lights illuminate Shoyo’s face makes Kenma lose his patience. Kenma closes in the distance and meets Shoyo with a kiss. It’s soft and real and all of the things that Shoyo and Kenma had each hoped it would be. 

When they part, a familiar tune reaches their ears.

“Is that- Kelly Clarkson?” Kenma asks.

Sure enough, the song Shoyo sang along to earlier now intertwines itself with this moment. Shoyo chuckles.

“What’s so funny?” Kenma wonders

“Just how true the lyrics are.”

“And how’s that?”

“You’re really all that I need. And we’re under an amazing tree.”

“Ugh, that’s so sappy,” Kenma scoffs. But there’s no malice to his words. Only amusement. 

“Yeah, I’d say I’m the king of sappy. And puns.”

Kenma looks down at Shoyo’s sweater and then back at him. “I’m _berry_ glad to be here with you this Christmas Eve.”

“That wasn’t citrus-themed, but it’s close enough for me. And you aren’t stealing my pun crown any time soon.”

They both chuckle.

“I’m _purrty_ glad you feel that way, Kenma.”

“If you say any more puns tonight, I’ll ignore you for a week.”

“Is that a challenge?”

Kenma shakes his head and smiles. 

“A challenge for some other time.”

“Well, good. Cuz I don’t think I can bear another second without you.”

“Neither could I.”

The two share another soft kiss, this one a little longer than their first. 

Sensing their time at the L.A. Zoo is coming to a close, Shoyo releases Kenma from his arms. He looks at the tree. 

“We’ll be back for you soon, sentient tree.”

“Maybe tomorrow?” Kenma asks while lacing his fingers with Shoyo’s once more.

“Coming back to this spot with my boyfriend tomorrow sure would be nice.”

Kenma smiles, squeezing Shoyo’s hand. “It definitely would.”

“Just to double check, you, me, we’re boyfriends now right?”

“Well, I’m assuming yes,” Kenma responds, raising his eyebrows. “Or else this would be very awkward.”

One more bubbly laugh escapes from Shoyo. “The answer is yes, _catboy_.”

Kenma smiles before responding.

“Merry Christmas Shoyo.”

“Merry Christmas Kenma.”

Hand in hand, they make their way to the zoo entrance, excited for the next time they’ll see the tree that brought them closer together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is my first time posting on AO3. I hope you enjoyed this!
> 
> Also, thank you sunsetless for helping me think up this fun little oneshot.


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